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This past Wednesday, the Bay Collective group announced the hiring of Anja van Ginhoven, England's general manager under head coach Sarina Wiegman, to serve as their global women's football operations director. The new multi-club ownership body, featuring the San Francisco-based Bay FC as its inaugural team within its group, has prior experience in recruiting from the Football Association.

The selection in recent months of Kay Cossington, the prominent ex-technical director for the FA, as top executive served as a clear statement by the collective. Cossington understands women’s football inside out and currently has put together an executive team with a deep understanding of the evolution of the women's game and filled with experience.

She is the third central staffer of Wiegman’s setup to exit this year, with Cossington exiting before Euro 2025 and assistant coach, Arjan Veurink, stepping down to assume the position of head coach of the Dutch national team, however her move was made earlier.

Moving on proved to be a shock to the system, yet “My choice was made to depart the Football Association some time back”, she states. “I had a contract lasting four years, exactly like Arjan and Sarina did. As they re-signed, I had expressed I didn’t know whether I would. I had grown accustomed to the thought that post-Euros my time with England would end.”

The Euros was an emotional competition as a result. “I remember very clearly, vividly, speaking with Sarina where I basically told her regarding my plans and after which we agreed: ‘There’s just one dream, how amazing would it be if we were to win the European Championship?’ In reality, dreams don't aspirations are realized every day yet, against the odds, ours came true.”

Wearing a Netherlands-colored shirt, she holds dual affections following her stint working in England, during which she contributed to winning back-to-back European titles and served on the manager's team for the Netherlands’ triumph in the 2017 European Championship.

“The national team will always hold an emotional connection for me. So, it will be difficult, especially with the knowledge that the players are due to arrive for national team duty in the near future,” she notes. “Whenever the two nations face off, where do my loyalties lie? Right now I'm in Dutch colors, but tomorrow I'll be in white.”

A speedboat allows for rapid direction changes. With a compact team such as ours, that’s easily done.

The American side was not initially considered when the management specialist concluded that a new chapter was needed, but the opportunity arose opportunely. Cossington started to bring people in and common principles were crucial.

“Essentially upon meeting we got together we had that click moment,” says Van Ginhoven. “There was immediate understanding. Our conversations have been thorough on various topics around how you grow the game and what we think is the right way.”

These executives are not the only figures to relocate from high-profile jobs within European football for a fresh start in the US. Atlético Madrid’s female football technical lead, Patricia González, has been unveiled as the organization's global sporting director.

“I was very attracted by the firm conviction of the power within the female sport,” González says. “I'm familiar with Cossington for many years; back when I was with Fifa, she held the technical director role for England, and decisions like this come naturally knowing you will have around you colleagues who drive you.”

The profound understanding in their team makes them unique, explains Van Ginhoven, for the collective one of several fresh club ownership ventures to launch in recent years. “It's a standout feature of our approach. It’s OK that people do things in different ways, however we strongly feel in incorporating football expertise,” she adds. “Each of us have been on a journey within the women's game, throughout our careers.”

As outlined on their site, the ambition of this group is to champion and pioneer a forward-thinking and durable system within female football clubs, based on what works to meet the varied requirements of women. Succeeding in this, with collective agreement, eliminating the need for persuasion regarding certain decisions, is incredibly freeing.

“I equate it to going from a tanker to a speedboat,” remarks she. “You're journeying through waters that there are no roadmaps for – as we say in the Netherlands, not sure how it comes across – and you must depend on your individual understanding and experience for making correct choices. Adjusting course and speeding up is possible with a speedboat. In a lean group like this, that is simple to achieve.”

González adds: “Here, we have a completely white sheet of paper to build upon. Personally, our mission focuses on impacting football more extensively and that blank slate enables you to pursue any direction you choose, adhering to football's guidelines. That is the advantage of our joint endeavor.”

The ambition is high, the management are saying the things athletes and supporters are eager to hear and it will be fascinating to follow the development of this organization, Bay FC and any clubs added to the portfolio.

For a flavour of what is to come, what factors are essential in a high-performance setting? “{It all starts and ends with|Everything begins and concludes with|The foundation and culmination involve